Here would be a good point at which to publicly declare my intention to use only the Thoth for the next 28 days at least. I did this with the Tarot Balbi a while back and it really helped in forging a strong connection with the deck. Maybe a bit too strong.

On to my perspective on the elements. I'm comfortable with the common suit/element combos as assigned by A. E. Waite to his tarot, the Rider-Waite Tarot (or Rider-Waite-Smith as I prefer to call it; there would be no deck without the art of Pamela Colman Smith), and all its subsequent offspring, eg.:

Wands - Fire

Coins (Pentacles) - Earth

Cups - Water

Swords - Air

This is certainly because my first deck was a RWS. This is how I learned it and it stuck. But there are other schools of thought on this. Luckily for me, Aleister Crowley, who roughly 30 years later designed his Thoth Tarot (images painted by Lady Frieda Harris), also stuck with these correspondences.

Carla's post generated a fair bit of discussion in the Tarot de Marseille in English group on Facebook, which brought up other types of correspondences, such as humours, seasons, compass directions, etc. Many differing alignments are proffered by various sources and I've spent quite a bit of time agonising over what my take is on the relationships. For the moment (and let's be honest, I may well discover yet another model which will make me reappraise my choices) I've settled on:

Wands - Fire - Spring - East - Sun

Coins - Earth - Summer - South - Earth

Cups - Water - Autumn - West - Moon

Swords - Air - Winter - North - Sky

As I come across additional quartets I expect I'll endeavour to slot them into this list as well.

But to what end? Do any of these extra correspondences really matter? Do we need to "know" which card mean winter, which card means east?

Well, if we want to know when something is likely to happen or where something is hiding, then yes, they can add practical details. But if you’re not into the “fortune-telling” aspects of tarot then it probably isn’t going to enhance your readings.

But perhaps you practice the type of magickal spell working that makes precise use of elemental correspondences. Then you would need to be able to identify your "ingredients". Personally, I tend to work with the cards' "energies" rather than the classical elements. But then I suppose my understanding of their energies is derived in great part from what I've internalised regarding their commonly designated correspondences.

At the end of the day, though, whether you make use of these correspondences or not, it's still interesting, and fun, to consider your own personal interrelationships. It just makes ya think! And that's always a good thing.

19 August 2016

I've been Thothed!

I started out in Team RWS and that's worked out well for me. But after many years I learned how intriguing and flexible Marseille-style decks were, so I took that up as well. Then there was Dame Fortune's Wheel with its amazing colours and Etteilla-based system. Most recently I found Balbi, yet another system, and it was love at first sight.

But in all that time, and we're talking about 40 years here, I was never drawn to the Thoth Tarot. Too esoteric. Too eccentric. Too intimidating!

Then, a little while back, I was talking tarot with my step-mum and discovered she actually owned a deck herself - a Thoth. I was surprised and impressed. Then Thoth seemed to be popping up in all my social media haunts. I started to get that itch. Clearly the time had come for me to take the plunge.

I found this used deck, complete with "Book of Thoth" bag and wrapping silk, on eBay. As soon as I saw it I knew that was the one I wanted (I have no problem with used decks - I've put it in order, washed the silk, and we're good to go).

I don't really care. The colours are clear and bright without being lairy (eh? - Google it) and it's not one of the ones with the greenish tinge. And it came with all three Magus variants. I'm going with the one in the middle.

It will be a nice size to work with and, who knows, maybe one day I'll treat myself to a set of the bigger cards.

For now I'm going to try to familiarise myself with the symbolism, and get to grips with the 15-Card Spread and the intricacies of Elemental Dignities. Wish me luck!

14 August 2016

Open Reading 13

For today's open reading I'm using the Grandfather's Breath Spread from the book which accompanies The Lakota Sweat Lodge Cards (Chief Archie Lame Deer and Helene Sarkis, Destiny Books). Simply put, the positions are Release this, Act on this, and Pray for insight on this.
(It's tobacco incense - what else? ☺)

Respect: Let go of your dependence on the will or advice of others - honour your own inner strength and wisdom.

Self-protection: Acknowledge that there is a challenge; remove yourself from a negative situation.

Eternal Life: Determine your inner truth. Your actions leave a mark - are they in keeping with your thoughts and the fire in your heart?

Reading Resources

A terrifically flexible spread generator
(click on Sun)
created by Tarot and card reader Bertrand Saint Guillain, featuring his Palimpsest Lenormand, Nicolas Conver 1860 Tarot and Triomphes de Paris
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And over at The Deceptionary you'll find a selection of
3-card reading generators
- using the Universal Tarot, Marseille (trumps only), playing cards, Psycards, Zener symbols, geomantic symbols and runes. You'll be given the description of a "querent", their area of concern, and three cards or symbols to interpret for them.